Feeling anxious. What motivated you in High School?

College Confidential Community
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<p>Feel free to skip this part about me and go to the bottom for the real question, lol.</p>

<p>I struggled to excel in high school. I had a 3.6 GPA/1800 SAT, 5s on a few APs, varsity baseball, orchestra, but that was it, nothing too special in today's extremely competitive admissions environment. Senior year and the whole applications process was rough for me. I've never known what I wanted to do and I wasn't about to spend loan money and go to a state university (live in California) with no roadmap, so I opted to go to community college last minute to try new things and seek motivation and hopefully transfer. I feel like I could've done better in high school had I been dead set on a career or dream school, but my main problem with deciding on a career right now I think is that I enjoy a variety of things.</p>

<p>Now that everyone I know has moved in to universities, I'm feeling anxious about my decision. People keep telling me about the "college life/dorm life" which is probably a big part of higher education that I completely overlooked. I feel inadequate in some way for attending a community college even though I know there are people way worse off (don't try as hard) than me going to state universities (my best friend, for example, barely got a 3.0 with 0 APs, bad SAT and is moved in to Chico State).</p>

<p>Maybe had I been motivated, I could've gone to a university and felt confident about it. I never really put in maximum effort in high school and often missed homework assignments. But, as depressed as I am, blank motivation comes rare for me.</p>

<p>SO, TL;DR, I was wondering: What REALLY motivated you to do well in high school? Was it competition amongst peers around you? The fear of not living up to your expectations of yourself? Parents? Faith?</p>

<p>Or are you highly motivated by the opportunities good universities (I.E. your dream school) have to offer, but don't necessarily know what you want to do for a career/major (undecided)?</p>

<p>Or maybe you have legitimately known what you wanted to do with your life and can focus on your goals?</p>

<p>If you could answer these questions for me, or possibly enlighten me in whatever it was that pushed you to succeed, that would help me immensely in my search for academic motivation :) Thank you</p>

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<p>What motivated me in high school?
Well, let’s see…I had this stupid idea in 8th grade to become a valedictorian. :slight_smile:
I honestly have no clue why I wanted to be one, and my parents said they never pushed me into that, but I was so determined to get there. Of course, this sort of peg-holed goal put a lot of stress on me. But was it the right decision for me? Probably, but only because I have a high need to achieve. </p>

<p>That is what still motivates me to do well. I’ve learned to put more realistic demands on myself, but there is always a desire to hear someone say, “Well done! Very good.” It’s how I measure my success. I can’t describe the immense joy and pride I feel when I professor tells me those words and means them. Cheesy, I know, but true. </p>

<p>And has this personality trait benefited me? Of course! It has gotten me scholarships and trips and opportunities, but becoming a valedictorian and getting high test scores is not the end all, be all. Many roads lead to Rome, and just because one road looks better than another, that doesn’t mean that it is. </p>

<p>As far as the college/dorm life, I am “missing out” as well, because I’m living at home while I go to a state university. (But really, “missing out” on community bathrooms???) Honestly, you probably could have gotten into most public universities, because your stats really are fine, but community college is not the worst thing that can happen to you. Actually, it might help give you time to figure out what you want to do. If anything, see succeeding in your classes as a tool that will let you go into whatever career you choose when the time comes. Good luck with your motivational and career search!! </p>

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<p>Hey, @runner019, I was like you! My motivation was also wanting to be valedictorian. I KNOW why I wanted to be one - I heard an ignorant sermon about women belonging in the kitchen! I thought, “That’s ridiculous!” and decided to do my best and show the guy what I could do. And I did. :)</p>

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<p>Um, I don’t know what is motivating me right now…I’m a senior in high school, taking a bunch of AP classes and, honestly, I don’t know why lol. Nobody has pushed me. I guess I’m self-motivated. Or maybe just downright stupid :(|). I like to think I look at the world with a broad perspective, not just at the path directly in front of me. </p>

<p>I want to do well in the future, basically. </p>

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<p>Fear of making my teachers disappointed. We don’t have valedictorians or any of this silly ranking/GPA stuff at my school, and my school is kind of known for having great teacher-student relations. So, my teachers kind of took the place of my parents and I wanted to impress them. My parents also didn’t go to college, so I wanted to be that first generation student that gets into a top school despite the odds, etc…</p>

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<p>Interesting @BPearlman97‌, I never understood that one. I know people who are like that, but I could never see it as a source of motivation for me. I think for me, I am too selfless which is why self-improvement, in any area, has always been an issue for me. I love my friends and family and love to make them laugh, help them, see them happy, more than anything; but I hardly ever spend time for myself.</p>

<p>Thank you for your post!</p>

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<p>No problem @anxious7658‌</p>

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<p>My own personal goals motivated me. Other people had goals and ideas for me, and that motivated me a little, but what really got me working hard were my own goals. I knew which school I wanted to get into and what career I wanted and I’ve been working toward that (still am!) ever since.</p>

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<p>One of the things that motivated me was meeting and becoming friends with amazing, inspirational people - the type of people who make you think, “Wow. They’re going to do something great one day.” I used to be really overconfident and only did the minimum work that would make me the best in school. But then I explored a lot of opportunities that allowed me to know people from around the world, all of whom I was able to have insightful discussions with. Afterwards, I knew there was a lot more to the world than what I had thought.
So my advice is to look for a wide variety of experiences and talk to people. You never know what you’ll learn! :)</p>

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<p>Thank you @mayee107‌ I definitely see what you’re saying.</p>

<p>In high school, I was probably a little cocky and thought I was better than trying my best. But now that I’m in college and seeing all different types of working adults in the real world and what not, it becomes much clearer how many different types of people there are out there as opposed to the types I thought I knew (parental figures, teachers, coaches).</p>

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<p>Hm…to be honest, I motivated myself because I found my passion for math and science early, and loved every bit of it. I never cared about valedictorian, or ivy league colleges, or class rank, or anything like that. In my mind, those things are really petty. I’m not saying that getting to a ivy league college or becoming valedictorian isn’t a noble goal(that’s great if you’re motivated by that!), but I feel like when I get into college or get a job… nobody’s going to care if I’m valedictorian or what my class rank is. </p>

<p>I’m also partly motivated by my peers as well. I see that they’re participating in these programs, doing volunteer work, and that has inspired me to do the same. Sometimes I feel like other people are doing way better than me, and that makes me feel a bit small and outclassed. However, I just realized that when I achieve my own goals, people will notice. </p>

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<p>your stats seem to be good. i think your problem is with confidence. i honestly don’t know what to tell you about motivation other than i need it for college too. Try not to think about it or underestimate yourself. Usually doing things you like more than anything on the side is a great way of just doing awesome in others. I did soccer when i was in high school and thinking about staying in the team and having fun with my friends really motivated me to go to class and be the best i could. Motivation comes by itself, success does not.</p>

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<p>Lol. Well I’m a guy and I think I can speak for a lot of guys here when I say this: I was motivated by a girl all throughout my high school.</p>

<p>Yup, that’s right. This girl was my dream girl. Freshmen year and she was perfect and waaaay out of my league. At least academic-wise. Her SAT was like 2300+, she was brilliant, pretty, and I absolutely crushed on her.</p>

<p>And that basically motivated me to study hard, become valedictorian and class president, and try to catch up to her.</p>

<p>(although my SAT score was like 100 points shy of hers, but my ACTs was like 35 so it was acceptable)</p>

<p>As sad is this sounds, I told her how much she changed my life and she laughed at me (in a good way). She replied with something like: “lol. boys are sooo simple.”</p>

<p>She is so right. And guys, DO NOT deny this…lol</p>

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<p>If I got good grades, people would sometimes tell me I was smart. </p>